The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, fell to 31.9 in April from 42.4 in March. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector. This was the worst deterioration since the survey began in June 1998.
Suppliers’ delivery times lengthened at a record pace in April. Output and new orders declined to a record low. Employment fell at a near record pace and input inventories declined at the strongest rate since May 2009.
New export orders also fell at a record pace in April. Backlogs of work and purchasing activity decreased at the fastest rate. Input prices rose at a softest rate in three months in April and output prices declined at the strongest rate in five-and-a-half years.
The 12-month outlook was the weakest on record in April due to the impact of economic lockdown, Markit Economics said. A similarly dramatic picture was also seen in the Czech Republic.
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